Did you know Google Now’s voice commands can add to-dos to Wunderlist or Trello? How about posting to Twitter or sending a message over WhatsApp? Here’s a list of a few surprising ways Google Now voice commands on Android can integrate with third-party apps.

At first, this mostly related to the cards shown when you open Google’s virtual assistant; for example, Feedly can show you top headlines from your feeds, and TripAdvisor can show you nearby places to eat or visit. But while it’s easy to find a list of every app that potentially shows cards in Google Now, there’s not really a definitive list of apps you can launch with voice commands.

Instead of saying “remind me to”, which prompts a reminder in Google Now itself, say “make a note to”, or “note to self”. You’ll be prompted to choose from among your apps where such notes should go:

We’ve been able to confirm that this technique works with the following to-do list apps, though there’s probably more:

Wunderlist

Trello

OneNote

Evernote

Catch

Google Keep

I’ve started using voice commands to add things to my Wunderlist to-do list on a daily basis, and it works great. I’m particularly happy that dates given at the end of a to-do are respected; for example, if I say, “Take out the recycling tomorrow”, Wunderlist will create the task with the appropriate due date.

Launch Music or Videos

Sometimes you just want to listen to some music or watch a video. You can do this quickly with Google Now, using a couple of different apps for the actual playback using the format, “Play [anything] on [name of app]”. See some examples below.

YouTube: “Play a John Oliver video on YouTube” should launch the comedian’s latest rant in the YouTube app

Pandora: “Play Boards of Canada Radio on Pandora” will launch the station I do most of my writing set to.

Again, there are likely more integrations, so if you’ve got an app in mind that you’d like to do this with, I’d recommend giving it a shot.

Send Messages Using Different Apps

You probably know Google Now can be used to dial your phone, or send a text message. But did you know it also can integrate with other messaging apps? This one takes the format of, “Send a [name of app] message to [name of recipient]”.

For example, if you say “Send a Hangouts message to Patrick”, you’ll be asked which Patrick you mean, then allowed to dictate a message.

Here are a few apps this works with:

Google Hangouts

Whatsapp

Viber

Telegram

There are probably more apps that work, but these were the ones we were able to verify.

Post on Various Social Networks

Sometimes you think of something clever to say but don’t have any hands free. Don’t worry: your musings can still be shared over Twitter or Facebook by saying, “Post on [name of social network]”.

For instance, just tell Google to, “Post on Twitter”, followed by your message, and your tweet will be dictated.

It works for Facebook as well, in our tests, making this an easy way to spread your thoughts to the world. Sadly, this integration can’t help make your thoughts worth sharing.

Custom Voice Actions for Certain Apps

A few applications have been given the right to design custom commands for Google Now.

“Show me [movie] on Flixter” launches the movie showtime app and shows you where a given movie is playing.

“Activate Home Network on Wink” lets you control your smart home from Google Now.

“Show attractions near me on Trip Advisor” will show you fun things to do near your current location.

Unlike the commands outlined above, these can’t easily be used with other apps: they’re hard-wired into Google Now itself. Google currently isn’t letting new developers make such integrations, instead focusing on providing a few set phrases app developers can take advantage of.

Bonus: Control Phone Functions

Google Now can also directly control your phone. While not really app integrations, these are still pretty useful and go beyond what you might think of as Google Now’s capabilities. For example:

Disable/Enable Bluetooth. If you’re the sort of person who turns off Bluetooth until you need it, this voice command lets you do that hands free.

Disable/Enable WiFi. Who needs to be connected to the Internet anyway?

Turn on/off flashlight. That’s right, you can tell your phone to light the darkness using only your voice. Sadly, “let there be light” does not work.

Take a picture launches the camera, then starts a countdown, meaning you can get a photo without touching your screen.

It’s pretty sweet to control these aspects of your phone, so try it out. You’ll feel powerful.

There Could Be a Lot More

This list is not meant to be definitive: it’s more of a starting point. It’s perfectly possible that apps not listed integrate with these commands, and I was not able to find a definitive list. I’m hoping you can help me out, in the comments below, by pointing out a few more integrations.

Google only recently started opening voice commands up to app developers, and what they let developers do is kind of limited. You can read the list of commands offered, if you want an idea of what app makers can work with. If any of these features would be useful in an app you already use, contacting the developer of that app might be a good way to get that capability.

Very cranky with google now ignoring my chosen tts that I paid for with only two female robotic, listless voices as options. I even downloded their Male UK English and tried to make that my tts and still no go. Wonky worble womans voice-- so annoying. When are they going to fix this! Been over a year and a half.

I would like voice control for everything I would normally do by finger swipes taps, presses, long presses, option key press, back, home, scroll up down, 3dots menu. Hamburger menu. Switch between, last open, home screen... As a truck driver, I need to be able to never touch my phone.

Talking to our phone is where we are heading. I would like my phone to respond to my voice as if it were responding to my touch. Completely. It may be too distracting while driving and may also be the ultimate personal assistant (as far as phones go that is).

Justin Pot is a technology journalist based in Portland, Oregon. He loves technology, people and nature – and tries to enjoy all three whenever possible. You can chat with Justin on Twitter, right now.